A Quack-tastic Read: Local Teacher Publishes "Countess Bubbly" for Early Learners

Your child's favorite feathered pond friend is the star of a new story. In "Countess Bubbly," local teacher Erin Roark has combined wildlife and nature observations with early-learning concepts like numbers and counting, the changing seasons, and more into an engaging children's book. Nominated for a New Hampshire Teacher of the Year Award in 2020, Roark is a Spanish teacher for the Keene School District's Symonds and Franklin Elementary Schools. She's been teaching since 2006 and employed in the Keene district since 2016. Roark was born in Massachusetts but grew up mainly in Keene and returned to the area as an adult. Her son Alden, she said, was the inspiration for the book, long before he was born almost a year ago, and she turned her dream of being a parent into a creative endeavor. "As a teacher, I see how children struggle with language and my book teaches language in a natural way," she said of writing the book. Illustrated by Eminence System and self-published through IngramSpark, the paperback book was originally published in October of 2024, a fitting time of year since the main character of the book was envisioned by Roark while walking her dog on a Halloween evening. "We heard this duck quacking, and it sounded like she was laughing her head off," Roark recalled. "That's how it started." Roark described the book as a year in the life of a female duck and every page is a different month. The progression through the year teaches about counting and the changing seasons in a read-with-me style that she recommends for ages 4 to 8. Countess Bubbly was originally going to be named Count Quackula, she said, but had to be renamed after she learned that a book character with that name already existed. Plus, she realized that the main character needed to be female, since it's only the female mallards that quack in nature, a fact she only discovered during her book's research. She wanted the word "count" in the name, though, and settled on Countess Bubbly because she felt the word "bubbly" served dual purposes of being both a happy word and a reference to the water. It's intuitive because it follows how the child would read, Roark explained, adding that the storyline has an unexpected twist at the end. There are also bonus details about the state of New Hampshire embedded throughout the story, as well as a QR code included to download coloring pages. Roark feels her experience as a teacher was helpful in creating comprehensible input for the book. She said its use of humor makes it a good book for early readers, as well as ESL (English as a second language) readers, as it covers a variety of topics without feeling like learning. "There are things that parents may learn, too," she added. For example, that only female mallards quack and that the males' feathers only turn green during mating season. There is a page of these fun nature facts at the end of the book, she said. When asked if she might write a sequel or another children's book, Roark said the creativity is within her to write more, but she feels that her energy is more likely to be channeled toward her son in the coming years. She and her husband Nate are both athletes and will be busy raising Alden in an active lifestyle that includes their combined passions of ice skating, skiing and cycling. Ideally, though, she would like to pursue publishing the book as a hardcover down the road in order for it to be included in libraries and classrooms, which generally don't purchase paperbacks for low-lifespan reasons. Roark said the book is a perfect gift or read to recognize Earth Day on April 22 and in conjunction with the holiday she will be participating in an event at Birdies on Main Street in Keene on April 18 at 10:30 a.m. (follow birdieskeene.com/eventschedule for updates). "Countess Bubbly" is available for purchase at Toadstool Bookshop in Keene or online through Amazon or IngramSpark, the publishing website. For more information or to discuss hosting a book-reading event, contact Roark at erinhoy8@gmail.com.